Chapter 7

The Fifth Form of Lightsaber Combat is in fact Two Forms.
Shien and Djem So. Both are considered part of the Perseverance
Form, or the Way of The Krayt Dragon. The Krayt Dragon was a
fierce and powerful reptile that was native to the Desert Planet
of Tatooine. This has some significance as this is the
Lightsaber Form most associated with The Skywalkers.

Shien was the first of the two to be developed and was
created during the same time as Ataru. Form V was in direct
response to Soresu as some Jedi felt that the Absolute Defense
mentality of Soresu prolonged battle. Instead of deflecting
blaster rounds with the blade for simple protection, Shien
focused on redirecting the blaster round back to the attacker or
attackers. Instead of waiting for an opening, Form V created the
opening. Shien was a combination of Form II and Form III, also
making it adept in melee combat. It's counterpart, Djem So, was
developed later on. It focuses primarily on Saber Dueling. Like
its twin, it focuses on redirecting and countering the opponents
attack, but focuses more on brute strength and overpowering the
opponent with broad, wide power strokes.

As stated before, Form V is the Form most associated with
the Skywalkers. Anakin was an accomplished Master of Shien and
Djem So, with his main focus being on Djem So. Anakin would use
Form V as his base form while adding other Forms into the mix.
Anakin is the only one on record of having used all Seven Forms
at one point or another during his lifetime. At the beginning,
he employed a more Ataru-centric of Djem So. As Vader, he
employed Makashi and Juyo with his Djem So. His Son, Luke,
instinctively mirrors his father's Form. On the flip side, both
of Anakin's apprentices, Ahsoka Tano and Galen Marek (known by
his codename: Starkiller), employed Shien, using the underhanded
style. Anakin tries to break Ahsoka of the trait to favor the
standard grip and Galen only uses underhanded as an opening
attack, switching to standard immediately afterwards.

One question that needs to be addressed with Form V is
this: What is the difference between Shien and Djem So? Yes,
Shien is made for blasters and Djem So for Lightsabers, but
there is more to it than that; Shien could be used as a melee
form and Djem So could be used to block ranged attacks as well.
So, where is the line drawn? Well, look at its parent Forms;
Form V was developed by mixing Makashi and Soresu. As these
articles have shown, these two forms seem opposed to each other

in every way possible. A combative form with linear movement and
a defensive form that employs 360 degrees of mobility.

Shien clearly favors its Soresu roots: It values blocking
blaster rounds. With this in mind, Shien must value speed and
mobility to compensate for the rapidfire ranged weapons.
Offensively, attacks would be quick, relying more on speed than
power. This is seen in its potential at employing an underhanded
approach, where underhand blocks are close to the body or rely
on deflection followed by quick strokes. Due to the structure of
the arm, Underhanded doesn't have the strength that someone
employing Djem So would need. The attacks were sharp and precise
and moved wherever an opening could be made before the attacker
knew what hit him. It should be noted that Shien could be used
as an underhanded style, not that Shien was an underhanded
style.

Djem So favors it's Makashi side, however, it eschews the
finesse and grace of Form II and relies on overpowering and
manhandling the opponent. It shares the point/counterpoint
mentality of Makashi, and can be employed either one handed or
two. Djem So's goal is to ultimately remove the fight out of the
fighter, with some of the attacks even focusing primarily on the
opponent's blade itself. It also shares Makashi's linear
movement, almost to the point of being detrimental.

The purpose of Form V is retaliation. If you are being
attacked, you return the attack in kind. The mindset is to
dominate your opponent, making their attack a part of your own.
The Jedi were leery of this mentality, feeling it was far too
aggressive for their tastes. This may have lead to a more
controlled blending in the next Form, Niman.

Despite this being a marriage of two powerful Forms, Form V
is not without its weaknesses. Where Shien was strong against
multiple attacks, relying more on blaster fire and mobility to
take care of opposition, it was not strong against a single
opponent. Djem So's main weakness was its lack of mobility, as
Djem So users did not cover much ground, and relied mostly on
pressing the attack. This is probably why Anakin employed other,
more mobile Forms, as a means of compensation.

There are several levels of trying to find an appropriate
analogue (or analogues) for Form V. There are what the Form
sounds like, what was used to develop it, and what we have to
work with in our community. There is some overlap, but it covers
a wide field.

The overall philosophy of Form V resembles that of a Soft
Form of Martial Art. By Soft Form, I do not mean weak. I am
instead referring to the martial arts reliance more on
manipulating the opponent rather than destroying them. Let me
give you an example: Karate is a Hard Form, as is Tae Kwon Do,
Kung Fu and Wushu. These are all disciplines that rely on
striking and taking the offensive to the opponent. Soft Forms or
more passive, and rely on grappling and knowledge of body
mechanics to remove an attacking opponent after he attacks.
Several Soft Forms are JiuJitsu, Aikido, Tai Chi, Ba Gua,
Systema, and a number of others. There is some overlap in the
styles of course: Kung Fu uses the fluid movements of a Soft
Form for Hard Form attacks.

I've seen several sword forms from the Shaolin Kung Fu
discipline, and I would personally consider the discipline a
perfect candidate for Shien. The moves are quick, agile and
implement many blocks, parries and counterpoints. While I'm not
sure if it could be implemented towards blocking blaster fire
(the people I've seen do it probably could), it functions as a
good analog to Shien as a melee combat art.

It's my belief that Djem So is a spiritual analogue to
JiuJitsu. JiuJitsu is a martial art that focuses on responding
to an attack and using power to manipulate, disarm, and create
an opening in the attacker's defense to incapacitate them. This
is the same criteria for Djem So, which requires power to
manipulate and create an opening in the attacker. It also shares
Djem So's weakness and does not employ any real mobility.
However, JiuJitsu is an unarmed form of combat, and therefore
has no equivalent in regards to swordwork. It should also be
noted that JiuJitsu, like Shaolin Kung Fu, are both Martial Arts
based on Buddhist teachings.

Another analogue for Djem So would be Longsword combat.
Longswords were used primarily as hewing and slicing weapons.
Longsword combat also employed catching and trapping the
opponent's blade using the hilt or changing from the edge to
flat of the blade. This brings me ultimately to the stage aspect
of the Forms. Peter Diamond was the Stunt Coordinator and Fight
Coordinator for the Original Trilogy. He is credited for being
the one to develop the fighting style used in those films, which
he had used elements of Kendo and Longsword in it. As Djem So is
used in all of those fights, he is inarguably the creator of
Djem So (Wookiepedia's article for him says as much, as well as
creating Soresu).

As we're a community that is focused on Lightsaber vs.
Lightsaber Combat, we are naturally inclined to focus on Djem
So. There is a system we use that already suits the needs to
employ Djem So: The Alphabet System. As Form V is a blending of
Form's II and III, it makes sense that we would use a system
that employs the precision of Makashi and the Defense of Soresu.
The ultimate question is enhancing what we know.

For the attacks, one must make it appear that they are
applying power into the strikes, though not actually doing it.
Remember, we deal in the illusion of combat. This can be done
simply by applying power and aiming it six inches away from the
target, this gives the audience the perception you're hauling
into your partner while giving your partner enough room to
respond safely. As for Defense, it's a simple matter of changing
the blocks from Static to Active. Instead of just blocking the
attacking saber to your sides and above and below you, you have
to address the blade directly, either through parries and blade
manipulation, or by (as they did in the Original Trilogy) attack
the blade itself.

YouTube Video

There are currently Four main members of the Community who
employ Form V in some form or another, three of whom are
Masters. Damon Honeycutt (General Sun), Kung Fu Grandmaster and
developer of Shii Cho; Brian van Kuik (Taomoon Nightstar) co-
founder and headmaster of Long Island Jedi, wields a single
handed variation of Djem So; Maria Nowak (Azure Dragon/Crimson
Finyx), co-founder and headmistress of Long Jedi, also uses a
single handed version of Djem So. The other user is Craig Page
(Rave), who is a black belt in JiuJitsu. Another possible user
is Jesse Barnick (J'ai A'rehal), a practitioner of several
Martial Arts, including Systema. Tim McDonald (The Emerald
Jedi/Darth Mageddon), an expert in Medieval Broadsword, could
also be considered a Djem So user

It should also be noted that Long Island Jedi is taught by
Brian and Maria, as well as additional instruction from a Master
of Shaolin Kung Fu. This arguably makes them all Form V users in
one way or another. There are currently two sword forms for Djem
So: a (as of this article) non-documented form by Damon
Honeycutt and one by Craig Page, using the philosophy of Jiu
Jitsu and applying it to the ABC system.